The Simplicity of Moral Clarity

01/08/202503/08/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary anti-Semitism, ethnic cleansing, gaza, genocide, israel, jews, palestine, russia, starvation, ukraine

This is a LinkedIn post by Marina Kobzeva about her grandmother. Reprinted with permission. Peace, MAA Photo provided by Marina Kobzeva. She always insisted that Arabs had done nothing to her. It was the Germans she never forgave. My grandma’s parents moved to Moscow from Ukraine. During the Russian Empire, Jews weren't allowed to live … Continue reading The Simplicity of Moral Clarity

The Larger Shift

22/01/202521/01/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary asian century, BRICS, china, decline of the west, europe, india, morris berman, russia, the larger shift, us decline

Photo from El Confidencial Below is a post by Dr. Morris Berman a US historian and social critic whom I've known for many years. He points out the obvious when referring to "the tectonic shift from West to East," which is why I use the hashtag #Asian Century often and with confidence. (I've lived in … Continue reading The Larger Shift

Top 10 Overseas Study Destinations for Young Vietnamese

14/03/202426/07/2024 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates australia, canada, china, finland, france, germany, ireland, japan, netherlands, new zealand, philippines, russia, singapore, south korea, taiwan, UK, USA, vietnam, vietnamese studying overseas

Summer 2024 Update Source: Chào Hanoi These countries host 93% of all Vietnamese studying abroad with 64% in Asia based on an estimated total of 275,000. Australia is currently the leading English-speaking destination, a place it frequently trades with the US. I occasionally see reports with outdated statistics in the Vietnamese and English language media. For … Continue reading Top 10 Overseas Study Destinations for Young Vietnamese

Russian Invasion of Ukraine Elicits Selective Outrage & Sympathy

28/02/202201/03/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary fulbright, iie, NAFSA, russia, school for international training, selective outrage, selective sympathy, ukraine

While I'm gratified to see the outpouring of support for Ukraine and its people on various social media channels, I realize how selective it is knowing that the US government and military have done the exact same thing. In a sense, Russia is taking a bloody page out of the US foreign policy playbook, which … Continue reading Russian Invasion of Ukraine Elicits Selective Outrage & Sympathy

SPAM is US(A)

26/10/2020 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates china, emails, russia, SPAM, spamhaus, USA, viet nam, vietnam

The US and China often trade places for the dubious distinction of being the world's leading Spam Haven country. Here's the latest from an authoritative source, Spamhaus. (My only other post about this was in January 2020.) Below are the world's worst Spam Haven countries for enabling spamming, as of 25 October 2020. Notice that … Continue reading SPAM is US(A)

An International Educator in Vietnam

Information, Insights & (Frequently) Intrigue

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